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Khashoggi murder trial in Riyadh lacked accountability, UN rights office says

A court in Riyadh Monday jailed eight people over the 2018 murder at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Hatice Cengiz, slain Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi's fiancee, attends a press conference calling for the Trump administration to release details about his killing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, March 3, 2020. - US lawmakers vowed Tuesday to force the release of an intelligence report on the killing of Saudi dissident writer Jamal Khashoggi, accusing President Donald Trump of blocking it to protect the kingdom. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia’s trial over the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi lacked transparency and accountability, a UN official said on Tuesday.

A court in Riyadh on Monday issued its final verdicts, jailing eight people for involvement in Khashoggi's murder at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul nearly two years ago. Five were handed 20-year-sentences and three others given jail terms of seven to 10 years. The names of the defendants were not made public. 

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